In the debate on 'Third options' for health care delivery in low- and middle-income countries it is proposed that self-help should play a larger role. Self-help is expected to contribute towards improving population health outcomes and reducing government health care expenditure. We review scope and limitations of self-help groups in Europe and South Asia and assess their potential role in heal...

OBJECTIVE To identify the relationship between socioeconomic status, health system development and the incidence, prevalence and mortality of tuberculosis in Asia and the Pacific. METHODS Incidence, prevalence and mortality rates of tuberculosis and 20 variables of socioeconomic, health system and biological-behavioral issues were included in the study involving all 46 countries of the Asian ...

This paper examines the impact of independent budget analysis and advocacy initiatives that are designed to improve budget transparency and government expenditure priorities. It draws on six case studies of independent budget groups in Brazil, Croatia, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Uganda, which include non-governmental organisations, research institutions and social movements. The findings ...

BACKGROUND Since the economic recession began in 2008 anecdotal reports suggest that mental health services in England have experienced disinvestment, but published data to test this proposition are few. METHOD This paper presents information from a wider range of official, research and grey literature sources aiming to: (1) assess whether governmental investment in publically funded mental h...

The paper presents two prototypes for the estimation of human energy expenditure during normal daily activities and exercise. The first prototype employs two dedicated inertial sensors attached to the user’s chest and thigh and a heart rate monitor. The second prototype uses only the accelerometer embedded in a smart phone carried in the user’s pocket. Both systems use machine learning for the ...

T his paper studies top income shares in Iran, using 26 Household Expenditure and Income Surveys conducted by the Statistical Center of Iran over the period 1985-2015. It is shown that after the imposed Iran-Iraq war, top income groups were raising their real income and income share by 2006; however, both their share and real income fell immediately after 2006 such that the numbers a...

Using a new-generation open-circuit calorimeter capable of monitoring the cost of activity, and thereby both the real thermic effect of feeding (TEF) and basal metabolism in free-moving freely-feeding rats, we have reassessed the proposal that when food intake is restricted an adaptative reduction in energy expenditure participates in the achievement of energy balance. Total energy expenditure,...

BACKGROUND Pharmaceutical expenditure is undergoing very high growth, and accounts for 30% of overall healthcare expenditure in Spain. In this paper we present a prediction model for primary health care pharmaceutical expenditure based on Clinical Risk Groups (CRG), a system that classifies individuals into mutually exclusive categories and assigns each person to a severity level if s/he has a ...

This study evaluates the impact of Sierra Leone's 2010 Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI). It uses two nationally representative surveys to identify the impact of the policy on utilisation of maternal care services by pregnant women and recent mothers as well as the impact on curative health care services and out-of-pocket payments for consultation and prescription in children under the age of ...